My Friend, The Monster Under The Bed
by silkplants
Summary: Alfred is terrified of the creature hiding under his bed. He's sure it's going to eat him or do something equally terrible, but perhaps he has the wrong impression of this particular monster. Child USUK fluff. Part of an October-long Halloween theme.


"Momma, Momma!" A seven-year-old Alfred came running into his parents' bedroom, launching himself onto the bed and hugging his mother. "Monster!" He exclaimed, eyes wide and panicked as he sniffled, tears in his eyes.

His mother and his father both sat up, and his mother rubbed her eyes, looking down at her son. "Monster.." She repeated, yawning and looking a bit unamused. "Alfred, it's fine, there's nothing there.." As she began to explain, Alfred shook his head furiously.

"I know there's a monster! It's big and it has eyes that glow and it's scary-!" The young boy sobbed, holding on to his mother for any sense of comfort. His mother spared a glance towards her husband, and she got out of bed, taking Alfred by the hand. "Fine, fine, let's go see it then. We'll get rid of it together.

But of course, when they arrived at Alfred'd bedroom, there was no monster under the bed and everything looked to be in it's place. Alfred wailed, but his mother convinced him to go back to sleep in his own bed. He bid her goodnight and lay down, curling up on the bed as he began to arrange pillows and stuffed animals around himself. Childlike logic indicated that, if he stayed in his circle formed by pillows and toys, he would be safe.

Alfred rolled over on his bed, and the unthinkable happened. One of this stuffed animals, a rabbit, slipped off the edge of the bed and landed onto the floor below. Alfred's eyes went wide, and he peered over the edge of the bed at the little plush toy.

He couldn't reach down and get it, it was right next to the bed-! But, if he didn't get it, he wouldn't have a complete circle anymore and then the monster could sneak up on him. After a few seconds of trying to decide what to do, He slowly began to reach down, now intent on getting his toy back. Alfred made a sudden lunge for it, but just as he grabbed it, so did another hand. The hand was so pale it was almost completely white, and in Alfred's surprise, he let go. He scurried back onto the bed, back against the wall.

Alfred was about to scream, when he saw the hand again. It was holding the rabbit this time, and it set the toy on the bed, pushing it towards Alfred before disappearing. The young boy frowned. He'd never heard of a monster that gave toys back to you. He had expected the monster to eat him, or at the very least steal his rabbit.

He looked over the edge of the bed, and, after a pause, pushed another toy onto the floor. This time it was a fluffy yellow dog. Sure enough, a hand appeared again. It picked up the dog and turned it over a few times, examining it. The hand then gently set it back on the bed.

Alfred took a deep breath and got out of bed, getting on his hands and knees to try and look underneath. It was too dark to see much of anything, but he thought he saw something move. He went to his desk and got his flashlight, turning it on and looking underneath the bedframe.

There was a figure there, and it seemed rather bothered by the light. The monster under the bed had a bare chest that was as pale as his hands, and feathery yellow hair that hung in shining green eyes. It's ears were slightly pointed, and nails sharper and longer than a normal human's. It seemed to be a child, around the same age as Alfred. It's most prominent difference was it's lower half, however. Beginning at the hips, the monster had a long, scaly green tail that curled around him.

It brought it's arm up, shielding it's eyes from the light, and Alfred turned the light away from him. "You aren't going to hurt me, right?" The monster asked, and Alfred looked surprised.

"I thought you were gonna hurt me." The young boy sat up and brought his knees to his chest. "You know, like, eat me or something." The monster made a face, and shook his head. "That sounds gross.." It whispered, pushing itself farther under the bed.

"H-hey!" Alfred began, lying flat on his stomach so he could look at the creature. "Don't go, my name's Alfred, what's yours?"

"Arthur.."

"Well, if you aren't gonna hurt me, Arthur, and I'm not gonna hurt you, then you don't have to hide if you don't wanna.."

Arthur seemed to consider that for a moment, and didn't go further away. Though, he didn't approach Alfred either. "Suppose not.."

Alfred grinned, and looked under the bed at Arthur. "Let's stay up, 'kay? You scared me so now I'm not tired, we could play a game or something!" Alfred's earlier fear now diminished, he stood, and went to his closet, carrying a plastic bin of toys and board games for the two of them to play with. Arthur had quietly came out from under the bed, and he watched as Alfred set up one of the games.

Alfred took a liking to Arthur after their first game. After Alfred has explained the rules of Uno, Arthur had caught on right away. They played a few games, until Alfred grew bored and wanted to do something else. Arthur was more than happy to follow his lead, as this was the first time he'd ever had any company.

As the night wore on, they both got tired, and Alfred now sat on his bed with Arthur coiled up beside him. They were looking at Alfred's picture books, Arthur smiling but yawning as he read along.

Dawn began to rise. They had stayed up all night. Noticing the sun, Arthur slid off the bed, and gave a temporary goodnight to Alfred. He went under the bed to sleep, curling up in the darkness.

Alfred rubbed his eyes as Arthur disappeared, and he frowned. However, the frown was replaced with a smile as Alfred had an idea.

He pushed the rabbit off the bed again, and it fell to the ground with an unceremonious thump. Soon enough, a hand reached out, and started to put it back on the bed. Alfred leaned over the side of the bed, almost nose to nose with Arthur. "I want you to keep it, okay? But only if you promise we'll be friends forever and ever."

Arthur stared for a moment, and then he smiled. He said nothing, but went back under the bed, taking the rabbit with him this time.

Alfred grinned. "Thanks, Artie."


End file.
